They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

The cordoned-off area was where she had been working. Although it was located in Kabukicho, Shinjuku District, the manager of the comic book store where she worked was a reliable friend of her grandmother. He trusted her very much and arranged for her to work as a store keeper, but she died in an accident that happened not long ago.

A long-tube trailer filled with compressed hydrogen suddenly crashed into a shop outside the road and exploded, killing countless passers-by nearby.

It's strange to say, because some of the flying debris were not dense, and if it didn't hurt any vital parts, there was still hope of being taken to the ambulance and saved.

But even the slightest touch would instantly lead to death. Only a few survivors remained unscathed, crying out the words of God.

Like some devout believer.

After seeing this scene outside, Aso Shin decided to secretly let Chiyo go over to investigate the intelligence, and then the interrogation scene took place.

"Oh my God..." Aso Shin recalled the experience of exploring that ghost world with Emiya and others. Bizarre scenes flashed in his mind from time to time, like colorful memory bubbles.

For some reason, she found herself getting further and further away from the everyday world.

Aso Makoto instinctively picked up her phone. Her first thought wasn't to call the police anymore—ever since the Shinjuku incident, Aso Makoto's trust in government agencies had been steadily declining. Instead, she dialed Emiya's number.

"Moses, moses! Mr. Emiya, it's me... Hey? Just call me Zhen. Um, I'm investigating a strange case here..."

----

"Okay, Zhen, thank you for the information. Goodbye."

Emiya put down his phone. He set aside the sword he was forging and peeked out from the warehouse, which reeked of rust and oil. He gazed out at the gloomy curtain of water that stretched from sky to earth, seemingly heralding the arrival of a long rainy season.

This isn't a tropical climate.

"The gods...are about to take action. In other words, the mythical advent she announced refers to the 'Resurrection of the Age of Gods,' right?"

Emiya muttered to himself, and subconsciously turned his head to look across at the warehouse. The corridor was silent under the eaves beaten by the heavy rain. Behind an open sliding door was a turned-off TV, and an oak chair where the red-haired girl often sat, empty with no one in sight.

Well, Eri has gone abroad, so some of the rooms are empty and seem to be unused.

Whatever, what was he thinking? Now that the gods had begun to act, a great war was imminent. This was no time to dwell on sentimental matters. Emiya stroked the edge of his Noble Phantasm, pondering how he could once again resist the gods.

If the preparations for the revival of the Age of Gods can provide more power to the wandering fragments of God, she will surely recover to a more complete state the next time she appears, perhaps to the level of the great god Huangquanjin who drives death.

She would bring endless death and let the darkness of Hades cover the world... Even if she were to recover to the level of an ordinary god, modern nuclear weapons would be powerless against her - nuclear weapons could at most affect the operation of the earth veins by destroying cities and interfere with the Holy Grail War, but using them against gods... would be completely useless.

“…We must find a way to stop God’s massive actions.”

Emiya stared at the blade's edge. "Unlimited Blade Works... Using the inherent barrier, we can confine the 'God' to the world of mind images and prevent the advent of the myth. I wonder if that's feasible?"

This may be a direction.

But a bigger problem arose… How could he speed up the process and complete the Infinite Blade System?

Chapter 216 When you are confused, you might as well listen to the advice of the Lord Wa

Boom, boom, boom... Emiya leaned against the sword rack where the treasures were placed. The dense sound of raindrops hitting the tiles on the roof of the warehouse echoed throughout the warehouse.

He couldn't grasp the inspiration or the key to Infinite Bladework. He stared at the swirling rain outside, so heavy it seemed to crush the earth. The so-called inherent barrier was the product of the mental landscape eroding reality, but this lack of inspiration made him feel a little restless.

The sound of leather boots rolling across the concrete floor mixed with the sound of rain. The red-haired girl stepped on the puddles and ran into the warehouse from the other corner of the corridor. Nono shook her wet hair, and a few drops of water from the ends of her hair splashed on Emiya.

Emiya shook his head, put away his annoyed expression, and wiped his face.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Nuonuo sat down next to him, leaning against the wall with her soft long hair as a cushion, not disliking the environment of the warehouse.

"Look at the rain."

"Liar." Nuonuo rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I won't look at the rain anymore... I'll look at you. That's okay, right?" Emiya said casually, turning his head to let his gaze slide along Nono's slightly wet clothes to her collarbone. The wrinkles of the fabric on her chest rose and fell with her breathing.

Nuonuo was stunned for half a second, her eyes slightly widened, and the base of her ears instantly felt hot and blushed. She turned her head and muttered, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and now you can't even speak a few words of truth!"

"There's nothing I can do. There are some things that others can't help with. This is a path I need to explore on my own..." Emiya said softly, "By the way, how's Melyuchina? Is she still sleeping in the house?"

"She, she is always like that?" Nuonuo stood up, his eyes sweeping over the dense knife marks on the floor and walls of the warehouse, as well as the metal swords shining with cold light. Suddenly, he noticed the cabinet beside him, and picked up two cans of beer from it with his smooth and flawless hands.

She chuckled, opened a can and took a sip, then placed the other can next to Emiya. "I didn't expect you had a wine cellar hidden here?"

"It's just a cabinet for storing various miscellaneous items. How can it be called a wine cellar?" Emiya also reached out and moved the knife rack beside him farther away.

The two of them sat quietly at the entrance of the warehouse, watching the heavy rain outside hitting the roof tiles, and then turning into silver threads made of water droplets, rolling down from the eaves.

"Where's Assistant Xia Mi? I didn't see her when I came back at noon. Did she run out again?"

Nuonuo took another sip of beer, feeling that something was not right with it. She raised her calf and kicked the air. It was clearly in front of her, so why did this guy have to care about other girls?

"Didn't you ask her to complete some history magic project? Before I went to the Genji Building, I saw her running around with documents all day, following you around like a little follower. What's going on? Has this little assistant changed her personality now?"

"That was before. The situation outside is not right now. The Holy Grail War has entered a very dangerous stage. I asked Xia Mi to run outside."

Emiya paused, holding the can between his fingers and staring at the pull ring with lowered eyes.

"But she also said that her family had asked her brother with dementia to move to Tokyo. Since he had no relatives to take care of him, he lived alone in a studio apartment. So Xia Mi was worried that her brother couldn't take care of himself, so she had to go out and check on him every day."

Nuonuo noticed something was clearly amiss. "Taking care of a brother with dementia? Going out every day? Since it's so troublesome, didn't Xia Mi ask you to bring him in? Even if they don't live in this house, wouldn't it be more convenient for them to move nearby?"

Emiya shook his head. "Xia Mi said that her parents had already paid a deposit to the landlord there for several months, and it was not easy to return it rashly..."

"I don't understand what her parents are thinking, but given Xia Mi's personality, she simply can't bear to throw away the deposit—if she changes her mind, the deposit won't be returned. So even if it means making one extra trip every day, she's going to grit her teeth and stick to it."

"Oh, she's always very shrewd when it comes to money. The deposit is one thing, but isn't the tram fare she takes every day also another thing?"

Nuonuo curled her lips. "Anyway, I think this girl probably has some ulterior motives. She's not unaware of the truly dangerous people in this world. Even at this point, she's still planning to go out every day. If she's not seeking death, then she has other plans. Don't be too biased and trust her."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Next time Xia Mi goes out, I will secretly follow her to see if she reveals her true identity." Nuonuo raised his chin mysteriously, looking like a hermit who must have a clever plan.

"What if you stare at it for a long time and can't find anything wrong? Are you going to spend all your time on this?"

Nuonuo raised her wrist and pointed to a certain place in the room - probably where Melyuchina was taking a nap. "Then let's switch shifts and let Melyuchina continue to watch secretly!"

I knew it!

Emiya drank his beer in silence, the foam rising from it. "It's up to you then. It's good that you have a companion who can ensure her safety along the way. If you find your way to her brother's apartment, remember to persuade the siblings and tell them to try not to live or stay in Tokyo. The danger now is no joke."

"Okay, okay, got it." Nuonuo folded his arms and agreed, "And there's something you said that I don't agree with."

"What?" Emiya was surprised.

"'There are some things that others can't help with...' I can't stand hearing that kind of talk," Nono put down the beer can, turned his head and looked directly into Emiya's eyes. "You always say things like that, leaving others behind and taking on everything by yourself. It's really discouraging, don't you know?"

Emiya shook his head. "Even if I tell them, what's the point? It will only cause more trouble to others."

Unlimited Blade Works may reflect his inner journey and be related to his own spiritual inclinations.

In fact, the Unlimited Blade Works in different world lines are also different. In Red A's Unlimited Blade Works, the mental landscape is a barren land full of swords, and a dim sky full of huge rotating gears. The distant horizon is leaping with burning flames, symbolizing that as the guardian of Alaya, he lives a life like a machine.

In the UBW worldline, Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works is also filled with swords, but with a clearer sky, symbolizing the difference between his path and Red A. In the Unlimited Blade Works of Miyu's brother Emiya Kyoshi, it is a desolate snowy field and a dark night with heavy snow, with only a crescent moon in the sky.

Different mental landscapes imply their own spiritual tendencies. Therefore, by analogy, he should also create his own unique landscape. To do this, Emiya needs to clarify his own spiritual tendencies.

But the more important prerequisite is...Emiya must know how to practice the inherent barrier.

He's not Shirou from the UBW line, who has the opportunity to receive instruction from Red A himself, thus directly gaining experience in Unlimited Blade Works...

Shirou in UBW is so special. This world line is like his future self teaching his past self a set of skills tailored for himself. It would be unreasonable if he couldn't learn it.

If it were Shirou, who had no prior experience in the Fate storyline, it would take at least ten years to master the technique, and another ten years to master it. In other words, Unlimited Blade Works simply wouldn't work with the standard, naive approach—it wouldn't make it to the finale of this Holy Grail War.

You have to master some special tricks.

Emiya sighed inwardly, a hint of worry. "...I don't mind telling you. The so-called inherent barrier is an extremely advanced form of magecraft, a product of the magical theory of 'World Egg', woven and perfected. It's considered magecraft bordering on magic—for example, the Holy Grail involved in the Holy Grail War is a magical creation."

Looking at Nono who seemed a little confused, Emiya stood up disappointedly and took out a second can of beer from the cabinet. "See, I knew it. Didn't I teach you magic? There are some things I can't figure out, and that's it. Nono, you can't figure it out either."

It’s just like some people solving advanced math problems. If you don’t know how to do advanced math, you just can’t do it.

Although this was true, this blunt blow made Nuonuo feel quite unhappy. "Okay, okay, you're awesome, okay? I admit... I don't know anything about inherent barriers, but I'm not the only one in your circle of acquaintances, am I?"

"So?" Emiya raised his eyebrows.

"Stupid! Since you think I'm not good enough, then go find another woman!"

As soon as Nuonuo said this, she suddenly covered her mouth. She suddenly realized that what she said was a bit ambiguous.

But fortunately, Emiya didn't care. Instead, he caught the topic, clapped his hands and smiled, "Yeah, I can go ask that kid..."

"Little sister...?" Nuonuo's tone suddenly became sharp. Was he referring to the woman who had appeared, or an old acquaintance?

"Uh--" Emiya smelled a dangerous aura. He slapped his head and remembered that Nono had not met or contacted Charlotte formally offline, and didn't know that the nickname "Little Sister" corresponded to this doll-like Western lady.

"It's Lord Wa!... I said the wrong thing at the last minute, actually I was talking about Lord Wa." Emiya said as he picked up his phone and opened the address book.

"Her? That does sound a bit like the Little Sister. She's a benefactor to us, after all. It's not bad to ask for her advice when you're confused."

When Nuonuo thought of the half-snake, half-human head of the Zhou family, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart. This woman didn't look like a child in any way except for her appearance... She was very difficult to deal with.

Emiya put down the empty beer can and, under Nono's obtrusive gaze, dialed the number... To be honest, he hadn't even thought of what to say politely—

"Hello, is this Lord Wa..."

The moment the call button was pressed, Shirou heard a loud noise coming from the other side. Wa's excited and energetic voice, which could not be suppressed, penetrated the noise of the electric current.

She asked, "Is that Shirou? I haven't seen him for a long time, why haven't you sent me a message? Maybe he forgot my number? How are you doing back home? Have you encountered any troubles?"

Just right. Emiya nodded secretly. This Lord Wa's mouth was still so sharp, able to speak clearly and send a bunch of words at him like a cannonball.

"I'm doing okay. How should I put it... Life is a little bit exciting and thrilling! Although there are some troubles, most of them have been solved for me..."

Emiya chatted with Wazhu about his recent experiences. He did not want to distract Wazhu's attention to this country which was beyond the reach of the Zhou family, so he only briefly described these experiences in a light-hearted tone, ignoring all the "details" involving the gods.

"...I understand, but don't be so stubborn."

After listening to this, Wazhu was silent and thoughtful for a moment. She seemed to have vaguely realized something, took a deep breath and replied, "...If the situation is really critical, just give up. It's okay to come back here. Just think of it as leaving yourself a way out, okay?"

"This……"

Wazhu suddenly raised her voice, "Is Nuonuo also here?"

Nono, who had been approaching for a long time, heard the noise and immediately raised his voice to answer:

"I'm here! Master Wa, long time no see. I know what you mean—to prevent this hero beside me from risking his life to save the world, I suggest you send a submarine to the high seas and be ready to pick him up at any time."

"Simple!" the other side replied immediately, "And Shirou, you also heard it, human power is limited..."

"I know, I know... Hey, that's not right! Things are not as serious as you think. I just encountered a small problem in training." Emiya hurriedly explained.

"Oh? Then may I ask what it is... Come to think of it, Shirou and I haven't had a deep conversation in a while. Sometimes, when I'm so busy, I think about the days you spent over there. Sometimes, when I miss you like this, even food, wine and tea seem tasteless."

"Ah... is, is that so?" Emiya was a little overwhelmed by such a direct attack.

Nuonuo beside him snorted coldly, exerted force with his hands, and crushed the empty can into a flat shape.

"It's actually about the theory of magic..."

Emiya was still communicating with Wa. For some reason, he suddenly remembered that his first interaction with Wa was about discussing cultivation theories on the Internet.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

Chapter 217 Okay, okay, the Nuclear Sword Immortal is also an immortal!

"...In short, in the magic system, 'Inherent Barrier' is a great magic that materializes one's mental landscape based on one's mental inclinations. Once activated, the surrounding space is replaced by an entirely different landscape."

Emiya explained in detail on the other end of the phone, "In other words, by replacing oneself with the world, space is enclosed in a small container. This is like the embryonic form of a world, hence the term 'world egg.'"

In the ancient book attic that looked like a scripture library, while listening to Emiya's description, Wazhu dug out piles of information and placed them on the rosewood desk. Her half-snake body curled up in the hem of her cheongsam, and the corner of her clothes swept away a layer of incense ash.

As her eyes swept across the scrolls of text, she suddenly fell silent, because her mind suddenly remembered the "Nibelungen" built by the ancient dragon.

Of course, Nibelungen is the name of the Western secret party.

In China, these strange little worlds that seem to be isolated from the rest of the world are often named "Dongtian Fudi" in ancient Taoist books such as "Yunji Qiqian" which have relevant records.

It is also commonly known as the place where immortals practice and live, or it is the product of portable space magic such as "the world in the sleeve" and "the world in the pot".

Of course, in the knowledge of aristocratic families with a long and rich heritage, these so-called immortal caves are actually the residences of true dragons (ancient dragons). Powerful dragons of the third generation or above are enough to construct these alien spaces that are completely different from reality.

Those weaker fourth-generation, fifth-generation, and even later dragons are unlikely to even be able to create something like the Nibelungen.

If dragons are like this, what about humans?

Therefore, the aristocratic families generally did not take this kind of Taoist scriptures seriously in the past. After all, they could not really become immortals and dragons, and the theories in these scriptures became just fantasies.

But now it’s different. Lord Wa confirmed the feasibility of “refining essence into qi” from the magic circuit system that Emiya mentioned.

Then wouldn't it be possible to go further and practice more deeply, such as the path of "refining qi into spirit"?

This idea of ​​"condensing essence and energy into the primordial spirit" seemed absurd in the past, and even after careful consideration, it was difficult to find the right method. However, with the "refining essence into energy" corresponding to the practice of magical energy, and the inherent barrier as a reference, Lord Wa vaguely understood that the step of refining energy into spirit is closely related to the cultivation of mental images and the development of inner space.